17 Venus In Furs 17 Nattsol: Greetings, Times! Please, introduce yourself in a few words. Times: Transonic - Humoristic - Em - Interview with Times piric – Polytypic - Psoriatic. Nattsol: How did you come into mu - ID sic and literature and who inspired Name: Venus in Furs/Times you to start doing it yourself? Place: Worthing, West Sussex / Brighton, East Sussex, UK Time: 1982 - Present Times: Well - as a boy, I always en - Close to: Post-Punk, Minimal, Psychological Rock, Avant-Garde Current Label: Other Voices Records joyed reading... used to “consume” Web: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Venus-In-Furs-Times/113494152066931 books, quite outside of any school [Delta compilation teaser] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKJBPH7tOkY&feature=share reading duties - I remember getting through several books a week - most - ly sci-fi like Moorcock; CS Lewis; the wonder stories of HG Wells ..... many others - but I was also entirely fas - enus in Furs was out that he has been very V cinated by Music... at around 12 - one of the bands that ap - active as a musician for 15 years, it was all Bolan/Bowie/Roxy peared on the British post- all these years and never Music. Then I discovered JG Ballard’s punk/new wave scene in the gave up his ideas, being books, and the Music of Eno (this early 80’s and caught the silent only due to his pref - would be around 1975) & thence to - genre amateurs’ attention by erence for privacy rather ward Punk: which really, like so many their remarkable style and than the more usual intensity others of that generation, entirely took highly individual approach & of self-promotion in the mod - my world over for a few crashing sound. Since 1986 Venus in ern world. Fortunately, Times years... among the records that Furs has evolved into a solo agreed to answer knocked me out around then were project of the composer/mul - our questions “This Years’s Model”/Costello; “Low” ti-instrumentalist Times, and about his & “Heroes”/Bowie; “Rattus Norwegi - 1990 was the year when the activi - cus” & “Black & White”/Stranglers ; last VIF vinyl album saw the ties. “Idiot”/Iggy Pop; and “Real Life” and light of day. Now in the 2010’s “Secondhand Daylight” / Magazine... Venus in Furs is the band high - ly estimated by record collec - I seem to recall listening to that and tors all over the world, and thinking «this is almost perfect, liter - recently news appeared on the ate Pop music». However, I was also web that Russian label Other listening to other, more “unfashion - Voices is working on the 2CD able” stuff too: Neil Young, Dylan, best of compilation. For more Cockney Rebel - and a band called details we contacted Times Sailor, whose early albums I still listen directly, and how surprised to and admire... much T.Rex... some we were when we found good English Folk music: June Tabor, 18 Venus In Furs Venus In Furs 18 Bert Jansch, Al Stewart... also a good these, “Dick Damage & The Dillem - months until it crashed - anyway, we roughly in tune! I can remember being deal of “Dub” reggae... Ramones had ma” - (!) had just broke up (Dick got talking and they were saying they quite apprehensive about the whole a big effect on me (“Leave Damage was kind of a local “legend” wanted to form a new Band and need - thing, but interested enough to give Home”/”Rocket to Russia”)...that 1st - he had many bands with variants ed a Singer, someone who could also it a shot - just to experience what it Suicide album… really just a whole of his name - they were, mostly, pretty handle writing Lyrics... so I somewhat was to be “in a Band”. I think at that quagmire of “influence” - I suppose awful but colourful to watch after a shyly suggested that maybe I could initial stage we were just looking to we call it this, as it all goes into a few drinks!) and I got talking to these try it. I’m really not entirely sure why... have a little fun, and we’d give it six melting pot. Along with these, the two guys who were just sitting around at that time all I knew was selling months or so, then move on to “nor - usual growing - up “Radio” things: mal” careers - I could easily have Beatles , Beach Boys, Motown Soul, wound up as an English teacher … a lot of Glam Rock... many re-re - . (which I actually did, much later on leases of 1950’s stuff like Dion, Buddy in this story!). So, they agreed, and Holly, a lot of “Doo-Wop”... and Old - for some time, around three/four field’s “Tubular Bells” - which was months, we rehearsed without a important at the time: I know it hasn’t drummer, using a «Rhythm Box» (a aged too well, but can you imagine truly crazy machine: it could offer just someone like Mozart or Beethoven three basic beats , which were subject hearing that? So - my early influences to sudden changes in tempo: kept were pretty much like anyone else’s us on our toes!) - and after one or of that time - I do know that from two jams I decided to get a guitar around 16 I had a yen to learn a and try and learn some basic chords musical instrument & try to write just so I could put some music to songs... but at that time, I really didn’t my poems/lyrics: I do recall doing know any Musicians who could teach hours and hours of practising with or show me how. It took five or six the guitar - got a chord book and years more until that happened..... just kept at it every day for months, even went out busking, much to the Nattsol: How did you meet your Ve - consternation of the locals... but I nus in Furs bandmates and how did guess all this paid off because then you form the band? I came up with the first Songs which we rehearsed, and, after getting a Times: I was working in an Inde - Drummer who answered an ad we pendent record shop in Brighton, put in the local paper (this was Mark Sussex - “Attrix”. This would be the shop doing nothing and looking records and running a fanzine (called Leach) we began doing some local around 1980- ‘81. Brighton has a miserable - because their band had “Voltage”: one Issue!) - I’d never shows - just pubs and bars mainly, thriving & busy band scene, and many just ended. Their names were played an instrument and had never with a few college gigs along the of these local musicians would come Jonathon Goodliffe and David Fisher sung in any way before… but I did way. This band was Called JOE into the shop each day, just to hang - Jon was a guitarist & David played write a whole slew of Poetry around DASH - and the members all decided out, drink tea & talk music etc. So I Bass – I don’t think they had been then - kinda dire efforts, but there on new names (!): Jon became Jon got talking to these local musos, and playing their instruments for too long, were a few worthy efforts - so I figured Goode, David became Dave Godot I was also going to many gigs in the and that variant of a Damage line- I could maybe adapt some of these (he was reading Beckett at the time), evenings to see them. So one of up had only been operating for a few to some music and try and shout Mark became Dan Leechasko, and 19 Venus In Furs Venus In Furs 19 I adopted the somewhat pale sobri - bel we began for the re - got regenerated again around 2004 quet; Times - if I recall, I chose this lease of “EXTENDED - 2008 when James Capelin (VIF as it was the name of my regular PLAY” (the 7” Vinyl EP) Artwork, Digital Editing & all-round daily Newspaper (in UK, it’s known in 1983/84 - which con - good chap) and I entirely re-mas - as the “Top People’s Paper”, naturally tinued for “PLATONIC tered / re-designed the whole I thought this entirely suitable!) and LOVE»... then I signed VIF/Times Catalogue (some 14 Al - also, I guess, because it has a “neu - to BACKS of Norwich bums) onto Compact Disc: this was tral” feel to it...and, of course, is redo - and we did a one-off Al - for Mail Order on the Internet - but lent of time passing ... though I can bum with STRIP. MOVE - this project was always a limited assure you, I wasn’t reading Proust MENT is something that service: we were both very busy then! Around a year and a half of can be “resuscitated” with other things, and though it was gigging & writing with JD, we had anytime I wish, which is good to get these out again in an accrued a fairly strong following lo - useful when I want to put improved digital form, those CD’s are cally (the South Coast of Old Eng - out something new & ex - all long sold out - there are even a land) & had managed to record a perimental – or outtakes few I don’t have myself! few demos - but my attitude to song - whatever... The Label writing was changing as the band Nattsol: Nowadays the original collectively grew tighter musically, Movement releases are extremely and I took a decision to rare collectors’ items, and seems novel change the whole situa - reading a that some of them are even not e this after - tion: new songs & a new “I chose alled Sach known nowadays.